Semana Santa was my busiest week here in Spain by far. *Warning* This blog is going to be very long! Feel free to skim :)
Sunday morning I woke up to go get Alan from the airport. As I walked to the bus there were lots of white nazarenos walking to their paso. It was really funny to see costumed people just walking through the streets.
I picked up Alan (yay!) at the airport and we went into town for the afternoon. We got to see a couple paseos and go out to lunch, and then catch the bus to Cadiz!
This is us on the balcony of our hotel, Playa Victoria. It was so nice and classy! It was kind of expensive but worth it to be right on the beach and have a nice place. 
Monday during the day we explored downtown Cadiz and the historic section. The roads were small and the buildings were pretty! Tuesday and Wednesday we went to the beach :). It was quite windy but we found an old wall to put our towels behind to block the wind so we could tan in the hot sun. It was great.
Wednesday night back in Sevilla we ran into some pasos. Alan's hostel was right behind the cathedral, very, very close, which was good and bad. At the time I booked it I thought it was good to be so close to everything but then it would be frustrating to squeeze and squeeze through the people just to try and get back to his place.
This is one of the beautiful imagenes of Mary. There were so many candles around her and lace. It was very pretty. People were very dressed up during the week. Holy Thursday and Good Friday many women wore black veils and dresses, as if they were going to Jesus' funeral. It was neat and strange at the same time. The pasos were really interesting and I liked seeing them, but everyone was right-- you really only needed to be there for a few days to appreciate it all. Spaniards think they can tell the difference between every single imagen (statue) which is ridiculous that they really can. Often there is only a slight difference between each statue, but if you try to say they all look the same the Spanish get very offended.
Alan and I really enjoyed going to all the bars around his neighborhood in Barrio Santa Cruz. They were open much later than usual since everyone was staying out for Semana Santa. It was fun to try out different tapas and just enjoy being together.
One day we went out and walked over the whole city. This is Alan in the Plaza de Espana. I have never been on my feet as much as I was this week. Honest to God, I think I was walking and standing for 18 hours, then I would go sleep for 6 hours, and then get up and do it all over again. By Sunday and Monday I literally thought the bones in my feet were breaking. I kept thinking, Is this what it feels like when pregnant women's feet hurt? I sure hope not. My sore feet were the worst part of the week. It was humorous in a way, but on the other hand I just wanted to sit on a curb and cry until someone picked me up and carried me!
This is Barrio Santa Cruz from the top of Alan's hostel. The hostel had really cool barbecue's every other night with 1 Euro cerveza and sangria, and then burgers and things. We never ate up there but had drinks a few times. It is pretty during the day and at night, too.
You would be shocked to see how full the city streets got. All these red fences would go for meters and meters blocking the way so only the pasos could be in there, and there were stacks and stacks of chairs that families would rent for the entire week just to sit and watch the pasos.
One afternoon Alan and I went to a neighborhood called Alfalfa and got some awesome tapas for lunch. We got a fried chicken breast, spinach with garbanzos, and croquetas. And cerveza and tinto de verano of course. This was the same place Megan's business teacher took us before. The food was awesome and homemade, fast service, good drinks, and not too busy! We really enjoyed it.
Saturday we spend the day in Granada! I left the house at 6:45 a.m. (WOOF!) to get to the bus station at 7:30 so we could leave at 8. It was a beautiful sunny day. I had been there before with the school, so it was extra fun going again and being somewhat familliar to show Alan everything and be able to tell little stories that the tour guides told us.
This is the Albacin, the only Moorish neighborhood left over after the Christian Reconquest. This is a long street filled with little Moroccan shops. It was really fun to look around at everything.
After the Albacin we climbed up out way onto the top of the San Nicolas Mirador to get an amazing view of Granada. Alan really loved the Sierra Nevadas in the background. That is the Alhambra behind us.
On our way back down the hill we stopped for a small lunch at a little restaurant outside. Granada has an awesome thing where if you order a drink, they give you a free tapa! We ate here and then got another drink further down the hill that came with a little sandwich. We saw other people whose tapas looked even better, but we were too full to keep ordering drinks and food. We walked around and enjoyed the rest of the day and then took a bus back home which arrived in Sevilla around 11:30.
Easter Sunday we went to mass in the cathedral! It was so awesome. I was thrilled to be able to go there. Alan and I decided to just meet at 10:30 and walk around until we found an open church, and the cathedral happened to have an 11 a.m. mass! After that we went to brunch across the street at the Horno San Buenaventura. Bonas is where we met :) so that was special too.
One afternoon Alan and I went to a neighborhood called Alfalfa and got some awesome tapas for lunch. We got a fried chicken breast, spinach with garbanzos, and croquetas. And cerveza and tinto de verano of course. This was the same place Megan's business teacher took us before. The food was awesome and homemade, fast service, good drinks, and not too busy! We really enjoyed it.
Saturday we spend the day in Granada! I left the house at 6:45 a.m. (WOOF!) to get to the bus station at 7:30 so we could leave at 8. It was a beautiful sunny day. I had been there before with the school, so it was extra fun going again and being somewhat familliar to show Alan everything and be able to tell little stories that the tour guides told us.This is the Albacin, the only Moorish neighborhood left over after the Christian Reconquest. This is a long street filled with little Moroccan shops. It was really fun to look around at everything.After the Albacin we climbed up out way onto the top of the San Nicolas Mirador to get an amazing view of Granada. Alan really loved the Sierra Nevadas in the background. That is the Alhambra behind us.
On our way back down the hill we stopped for a small lunch at a little restaurant outside. Granada has an awesome thing where if you order a drink, they give you a free tapa! We ate here and then got another drink further down the hill that came with a little sandwich. We saw other people whose tapas looked even better, but we were too full to keep ordering drinks and food. We walked around and enjoyed the rest of the day and then took a bus back home which arrived in Sevilla around 11:30.
Easter Sunday we went to mass in the cathedral! It was so awesome. I was thrilled to be able to go there. Alan and I decided to just meet at 10:30 and walk around until we found an open church, and the cathedral happened to have an 11 a.m. mass! After that we went to brunch across the street at the Horno San Buenaventura. Bonas is where we met :) so that was special too. I got to talk to my family on the phone for a little bit Easter afternoon. It was nice talking to them. I missed them but was so glad Alan was there with me! I was surprised that Sunday seemed much more like a regular day for people, whereas Thursday and Friday were the huge days when the stores were closed and people were dressed to the nines.
Monday was Alan's last day here. We just relaxed and enjoyed the last day together. Megan told us about this tiny little bar that is actually ON the Guadalquivir. We went there and got fancy drinks and tapas. It made me a little nauseaus when a boat would rock the water underneath us (I get motion sick very easily) but the rest of the time there was really cool. You could rent a kayak or pedal boat there, too! I wanted to do that but we were too pressed for time.
Monday was Alan's last day here. We just relaxed and enjoyed the last day together. Megan told us about this tiny little bar that is actually ON the Guadalquivir. We went there and got fancy drinks and tapas. It made me a little nauseaus when a boat would rock the water underneath us (I get motion sick very easily) but the rest of the time there was really cool. You could rent a kayak or pedal boat there, too! I wanted to do that but we were too pressed for time.
After that we walked around and hung out in the park for a while. We got one last cafe con leche before catching the bus to the airport, and got our coffees for free! An old man at the bar started chatting me up when he saw "Universidad de Sevilla" on my t-shirt. Then he started asking where we were from, etc. and told us the coffees were on him! I think he may have been somewhat tipsy because his friends next to him seemed to be laughing at him a little, but hey what nice Andalucian people there are here ;).
Saying goodbye was hard because we'd have such a nice week, but I felt silly being sad because I was lucky that Alan could even come visit. He is now on his way to Texas to get an apartment and start his army officer life down there! Hopefully I will visit him in June after I get home.
I cannot believe that I only have 40 more days here. My family comes in less than a week! I wish I didn't have class while they were here so I could show them around more, but atleast they have each other.
Now I am hoping to get to bed early! I really love sleeping even more than usual this week since I got such little sleep last week. Sitting doing homework is actually very relaxing now, haha.
Thanks for reading, everyone! Congratulations for making it through. ;)
Hasta luego!
Emily
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